CINCINNATI - Faced with a swarming zone defense, the Wilmington College men's basketball team never found their rhythm in falling to the College of Mount St. Joseph, 63-52, Saturday in their season opener in the MSJ Tip-Off Tournament at the Harrington Center.

"We were out-played, out-coached and out-classed in every facet tonight," said WC head coach K.C. Hunt. "We didn't compete at a level necessary to win a college basketball game. The zone gave us problems, but our biggest problem is we weren't physically or mentally tough enough. It hope its a wake-up call for us."

Wilmington couldn't make enough shots to convince the Lions to come out of the zone defense. The only time MSJ decided to play man-to-man, the elected the defensive strategy with Heard on the bench. The Fightin' Quakers was just 17-of-52 (32.7 percent) from the field, and made just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

It didn't help the Wilmington cause that senior Malcolm Heard II (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) spent much of the game battling foul trouble. He finished with three points and three rebounds.

Despite their struggles, a late Wilmington run had the home crowd nervous with about seven minutes remaining. The WC run came on the heels of a Lions 12-0 spurt that had the home threatening to run away with the game with a 15-point lead.

Junior R.J. Leppert scored seven straight points during WC's 13-4 run that pulled the Quakers to within six with 7:20 remaining. Wilmington's couldn't get any closer. The Mount had a three-point play and a four-point play to stem the tide.

Leppert finished with a team-high 13 points and three rebounds, while sophomore Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Wilmington (0-1) faces Transylvania (0-1) 3 p.m. Sunday in a predetermined match-up. The Pioneers fell to Heidelberg, 72-59.